Marie Louise Ramnefalk was born in Stockholm, was a literature and stage historian, and gained her PhD in 1974 with the thesis Tre lärodiktare about Harry Martinson, Gunnar Ekelöf, and Karl Vennberg. She was co-editor of the Swedish work Kvinnornas Litteratur Historia and wrote literary criticism in magazines such as Vor Lösen, Bonniers Litterära Magasin, and in the daily press. She has taught at university and has arranged writing courses.
Her debut poems Enskilt liv pågår, 1975, like her subsequent works Verkligheten gör dig den äran, 1978, and Någon har jag sett, 1979, are characterised by a strong female consciousness, humour, and irony, which serve to keep in check the existential sorrow and desperation. After her two poetry collections Kungsådra, 1981, and Levnadskonster, 1983, she published Adam i paradiset subtitled En diktberättelse in 1984. She has translated the poetry of Robert Graves, and written drama texts and opera libretti, including Någon har jag sett, with the first performance in 1988.
Her increasingly profound religious commitment led her to become interested in the English medieval mystic Julian of Norwich and induced her to write a poetic version of his revelations in Julian såg Gud, 1992, with images by Lena Cronqvist. In 1996 she published the essay collection Författaren, världen och språket about literature and writing, and in 1997 Mystik – en kärlekshistoria, in which she painted a detailed picture of English medieval mysticism.